Key facts
- The Free Speech Union (FSU) crowdfunded over £60,000 for a legal case involving Julian Foulkes.
- Foulkes's legal action against Kent Police was handled by a solicitor on a pro bono basis.
- Internal FSU communications indicate staff were aware that the crowdfunded money might not be used for legal fees.
- Toby Young, founder of the FSU, stated that funds not used for external legal costs would be reallocated to other cases.
- Foulkes received a £20,000 out-of-court settlement from Kent Police.
The Free Speech Union (FSU), an organization founded by Toby Young that advocates for free speech, is facing scrutiny over its fundraising practices. The group crowdfunded over £60,000 for a legal case brought by Julian Foulkes, a retired police officer arrested for a social media post about antisemitism. Foulkes's case against Kent Police, which had apologized and paid him a £20,000 out-of-court settlement, was handled by a London-based solicitor on a pro bono basis.
Internal communications from the FSU, seen by The Guardian, suggest that staff were aware of the discrepancy between the crowdfunder's stated purpose of covering legal expenses and the fact that the legal work was done for free. One email from July 2025 indicates a need to 'explain what we did with all that money raised for a case done pro bono.' A former staffer described the situation internally as 'a big joke.'
In response to queries, Toby Young stated that Foulkes's case was not exclusively pro bono, citing other lawyers and separate legal costs for Foulkes, though he did not elaborate. Young added that any surplus funds from the crowdfunder would be reallocated to other similar cases and not for any other purpose. Foulkes himself declined to comment on the specifics of the case or the funding.
This situation raises questions about the FSU's financial integrity, particularly as it claims to have fought over 6,000 cases for individuals who have been 'cancelled or silenced.' The FSU has previously attempted to raise significant sums for other cases, such as that of comedian Graham Linehan, with fundraising targets far exceeding estimated legal costs for similar settlements. The FSU's website has removed pages for both the Foulkes and Linehan fundraisers. The organization also faces scrutiny over a potential $5 million grant from the US State Department to its international offshoot, which would contradict the UK chapter's stated principle of not accepting government money.